Leslie capped her Olympic career with 14 points in a 92-65 USA victory over Australia in the gold-medal game. She joined former teammate Teresa Edwards as the only basketball players ever to win four Olympic gold medals.

As soon as last night’s victory was complete, she put on all four of her golds, making her the noisiest player in the building.

“My vision, my dream was to have four gold medals around my neck by the time we finished our last game here in Beijing,” Leslie said.

She did just that thanks to a relentless defensive effort by the Americans. The Aussies shot just 25 percent from the field and never led after the first quarter.

The U.S. has won 33 straight Olympic games, dating back to 1992. The squad is 50-3 with six gold medals, including the last four.

Australia took a 13-10 lead and American starters Katie Smith and Diana Taurasi both found early foul trouble. Coach Anne Donovan inserted her subs and Team USA took off. Kara Lawson led the second unit, scoring six points on a 12-2 run to the first quarter. Lawson finished with a team-high 15.

“I don’t think there’s ever been a team as deep where no matter who was on the court there is no letdown whatsoever,” said Syosset native Sue Bird. “In fact, at times when the subs are made, if anything, the level of play goes up.”

Depth is one of the elements that made this team so good, maybe the best women’s team ever. They beat their opponents here by an average margin of 38.8 points. Last night they showed how well they can play defense, reducing Australia’s offense to chucking and hoping. Aussie star Lauren Jackson finished with 20 points, but didn’t score until the middle of the second quarter.

“I’ve never been around a group that’s been more selfless,” Donovan said. “There was never a question that the open player was going to get the ball and get the shot. There was never a question that they were committed to defending, which was a problem for us in the World Championships.”

Though they were not quite on the same mission as the men’s “Redeem Team,” the U.S. women had something to prove, too. They lost in the 2006 World Championship to Russia, and Australia ended up winning gold there. For two years the players have heard talk that the world has caught up to them and these were the Olympics they would lose. Not so fast.

“When you put on this jersey you know the tradition, what’s expected,” Lawson said. “They don’t hope you’ll live up to it, they expect you to live up to it and that’s winning the gold medal.”